Some unusual views of Wigan town centre from the roof of the Grand Arcade

Wigan Today was given exclusive access to the rooftop of the Grand Arcade shopping centre from where different perspectives of the surrounding streets and businesses can be obtained.

One clearly takes in the Wiend, Life Centre North, the Billy Boston statue and town centre shop roofs plus the parish church.

Another looks over the soon-to-be-gone Galleries arcade and another peers at Swinley and Standishgate.

The Grand Arcade is proud of its green credentials and has boasted a grass roof (as seen in the foreground of one of the images) since it was built in the mid-noughties.

But it is looking to improve them in the coming months and years.

A cycle park is planned, as is the introduction of beehives on the roof.

Bigger projects bosses would like to bring in include harvesting rainwater to use for the mall’s toilets, and covering the rest of the roof with solar panels, thus improving its carbon footprint.

School parties are given a behind-the-scenes tour of the Grand Arcade and get to see these panoramas. Their artwork adorns corridors leading up there.